Chart Showing VOA Comparison of Amsoil SS, Redline & M1 HM

[SharkBater]

Hello all, this is my very first post on BITOG! I have been lurking these forums for a few years absorbing vast amount of knowledge regarding Motor Oils. With that said I currently have a 2004 Hyundai Tiburon 2.0L I4 5 Speed with 140K original miles. After extensive research and of course only desiring the absolute best for my vehicle I came to the conclusion that only Group IV/V oils would fit the bill for me personally. I have tried countless off the shelf oils not noticing much difference between them. Mostly I believe because they are group III/IV mixed except for GC & M1. Now to the good stuff. I didn’t include royal purple because I’ve run it before and felt it wasn’t giving me adequate protection and was more of a gimmick. Seeing UOA’s regarding this oil have only confirmed this for me. So without further adue. I present to you a handwritten list that started as a note taking comparison between Virgin Oil Analysis between the top competing oils; however, once I completed these notes I decided to make it look “pretty” and upload it here in the hopes that it may assist someone else on the internet in the never ending hunt for finding the most ideal oil for their vehicle application. My personal goals for my vehicle are wear protection/heat protection to give my car a very long engine life. So the oils listed here from left to right are Mobil 1 High Mileage Full Synthetic, two separate VOA’s of 10W30. In the middle we have 3 different Redline full Sythetic VOA’s of various grades and finally on the right we have two Amsoil Signature Series VOA’s also in differing grades. I chose the Amsoil & Redline as it is the general conseus of most on this forum that they have some of the most genuine “true” Sythetic basestock and also are considered to be the best overall oils currently in the market. Mobil 1 HM was added because it is the only competitor to not blend group 3 oils into their mix for the most part and is the factory fill/ highly praised oil that most people run in their vehicles. High Mileage version because my personal car is at 140k so no VOA’s of annual protection (sorry). Please be respectful and if theirs any issues feel free to comment. I really hope this helps people in the ever expanding world of engine oils and advertisements. Thanks!

 

[kschachn]

Wow for being new your post sounds very familiar. You’ve certainly hit a good number of hot button topics in one swoop. If you’ve been around a while I guess that explains it but along the same line I’m surprised you wouldn’t already have answers to those questions if you’ve read the forum for any length of time.

So did you have a question or just sharing results?

 

[SharkBater]

Yeah, I’ve really never been a member on here but I think I have a little OCD when you walk into Walmart and see so many options of motor oil to choose from it can just be overwhelming and I had a desire to learn what the differences are in oil and which brand marked what and why. Basically all of my information came from this forum and just reading probably 1000’s of post and UOA/VOA’s. I think it is ridiculous in my opinion that company A can claim to be the best and have poor UOA, while company B charges nearly double for a non true Sythetic Oil. I really don’t have any questions, I just posted this up in hopes of helping anyone that wants more information. I guess what peaks my interest is seeing Redline do so well on wear protection and yet have high wear metals in the UOA’s along with such a great TBN (as of more recent batches) and still not be considered an extended OCI oil. I personally was not impressed with Amsoil by the research I’ve seen and unfortunately I feel I was proven right in suspecting most of those “independent” test were not so forthcoming with actual facts in favor of selling product. Hope this helps!

 

[Zee09]

So what is your preferred flavor???

 

[PimTac]

A VOA does not give any indication on the quality of the tested oil. As long as the oil meets the specs recommended by the manufacturer then you are good to go.

 

[CT8]

I have seen just as many cars with 400,00 miles running what ever oil and filter the quick lube uses as those running Amsoil Redline and M1 oils. Oil keeps the part separated. That is all that really matters.

 

[SharkBater]

Right now I run Castrol Edge High Mileage Full Sythetic 10W30. A good oil no doubt but I have an obsession with my car and don’t mind spending extra money on oil if I know a better product exist. I put this oil in before researching differences in oil basestocks and groups. I personally like either the Redline or M1 HM either in 10W30 for my particular vehicle. I’d certainly be open to input from Royal Purple & Amsoil users who may have great input on the subject at hand. Great question!

Edit: It may be worth mentioning I live in South Florida and it is almost always 90+ Fahrenheit year round and I live in a very congested area with a lot of stop/go traffic and street lights at every turn (very annoying...) I do believe oil is run under harsher conditions in this environment than in most others (not all). This is what prompted me to run only the best to protect my investment. An extra $40-60 per year for oil won’t kill anyone here to ensure the best product is being used to keep your baby safe. If you don’t care then by all means use whatever you feel. This was posted for informational purposes; not to create disagreements over oil quality and necessity.

 

[Zee09]

Originally Posted By: PimTac
A VOA does not give any indication on the quality of the tested oil. As long as the oil meets the specs recommended by the manufacturer then you are good to go.


If the VOA showed high levels of contaminants then it would reveal the quality
of the oil... no?


Then you have a situation like my last VOA that showed highly excessive phosphorus.
Making that oil unusable.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: SharkBater


Edit: It may be worth mentioning I live in South Florida and it is almost always 90+ Fahrenheit year round and I live in a very congested area with a lot of stop/go traffic and street lights at every turn (very annoying...)


Welcome to BITOG!

Where in South Florida are you? The Gulf side or Atlantic side? My wife and I are going to spend winters in Florida starting in 2022, we have our heart set on Marco Island, we stayed there for a week last Christmas (and had visited it a few times prior to that)

 

[SharkBater]

Hey thanks for the friendly welcome! I’m located on the Atlantic side, (West Palm Beach) to be more specific. I’m sure you guys will love the warm weather and beaches down here! Marco Island is a great vacation spot & definitley beautiful, I’m sure you guys can’t wait to move down here for the winters! I’m ready to move away from FL once school is finished. I’m not a big fan of the congested city life and blazing hot sun on a daily basis anymore, but I grew up here so I guess I’m ready for a change. Canada seems amazing too bad we can’t trade spots once in a while lol.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: SharkBater
Hey thanks for the friendly welcome! I’m located on the Atlantic side, (West Palm Beach) to be more specific. I’m sure you guys will love the warm weather and beaches down here! Marco Island is a great vacation spot & definitley beautiful, I’m sure you guys can’t wait to move down here for the winters! I’m ready to move away from FL once school is finished. I’m not a big fan of the congested city life and blazing hot sun on a daily basis anymore, but I grew up here so I guess I’m ready for a change. Canada seems amazing too bad we can’t trade spots once in a while lol.


We love living up here from May until October, the weather in southern Ontario is very similar to a south Florida winter day actually (75-85F and sunny almost every day) But the rest of the year, forget about it! (especially Dec to March)

 

[Dylan1303]

Hey i had the same car you did. I made some custom parts for it and have some left ill send you a pm. Awesome cars, body made my porsche. Oh ya also if you havent already i highly reccomend getting your hla’s adjusted at the dealer its only like $300 and it sure does quite the ticking down. I beleive its reccomened every 80k on the g4gc.

 

[pbm]

Hyundai recommends Quaker State and their 10w30 HM was recently showm to be very stout.
I doubt your Hyundai will last any longer by using boutique oils.
MY 2008 Elantra seems to like just about any brand of 5w30 or 10w30 even though it specs 5w20.

 

[ZZman]

Where is the Magnesium and why is Amsoil so low in Detergent?

 

[ka9mnx]

I think your Mobil1 10w-30 HM specs are off. The ZDDP shown is the old SL version (wish it was still available). The new version is API SN.

I think you are over stressing on the V and VI base oil. But good for you on researching HM oil. I've run a lot of different oils over the years through my vehicles and I'm very pleased with the results of my present HM oil selection. I ran Royal Purple once in my Ranger (at the recommendation of my son) and it was terrible oil in my application (and expensive!).

 

[Brons2]

Originally Posted By: SharkBater
Edit: It may be worth mentioning I live in South Florida and it is almost always 90+ Fahrenheit year round and I live in a very congested area with a lot of stop/go traffic and street lights at every turn (very annoying...) I do believe oil is run under harsher conditions in this environment than in most others (not all).


No, I think a short tripper in a cold climate would be more harsh then this, because the oil will never get heated up enough to burn off the condensation. You're never going to have that problem, your engine is probably at operating temperature by the time you get to the end of your block.

This bit about the hot Southern climates being the hardest on oil is old school. Maybe back in the day when most people were running Group I straight 30 in their domestic V8s with badly adjusted carburetors and worn points. But with modern engines and oils, no.

 

[ka9mnx]

Your oil doesn't get hot sitting in Florida traffic in the Summer. Oil gets hot from the friction in the bearings at high RPM.

 

[Dallas69]

I have a feeling the op lived a life on here before.
Something is familiar.

 

[ka9mnx]

Originally Posted By: Dallas69
I have a feeling the op lived a life on here before.
Something is familiar.


If your talking about me...nope

 

[fdcg27]

If this engine has already gone 140K on whatever oils were used over its life, then what are you worried about?
There is no way I'd pay Red Line prices for oil to use in an old daily driver Hyundai, nor anything else this side of an exotic Italian and probably not even then.
No real advantage with the major disadvantage being the hit to your wallet.
Unless you track this machine there is no reason at all to use a very costly oil that's suited to that use.
Trust me, this engine will not benefit from Red Line over any decent OTS synthetic oil found on the shelf at Walmart.
Also, a VOA/UOA shows you very little. It'll hit the high points of the metallic add pack, but it tells you nothing about basestock blends nor organic adds.
Who do you think has the more advanced finished product?
A world class blender that also makes its own basestocks and add packs like Mobil or SOPUS or some little boutique concern that has to buy all of this stuff from others?